Package and package implement



May 10, 1938. R. w. HARRIS I 2,117,162

PACKAGE AND PACKAGE IMPLEMENT Filed May 19, 1936 INVENTOR, Fez/L011 11 Harwi',

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 10, 1933 1 UNITED STATES? PATENT oFFicE This invention relates to implements for clamp ing flexible and usually symmetrically formed articles, such as towels and other folded fabric articles.

The object ofthe invention is to provide an im *plement of this. class which will securely clamp or grip the articles but which may be easily applied thereto and permit their easy removal one or a few at a time while the clamp retains its 10 efiective grip on the remainder; which shall also have a decorative appearance so that when the package formed or a number of them are placed on shelves, as in a closet, an attractive display shall be presented; and which may be menu- 15 factured at a minimum of cost.

The implement in its best form comprises a clamp formed generally U-shaped and normally having the extremities of its U urged together by elastic means and an elongated tubular envelope of flexible material, as of fabric, in which the clamp stands sheathed from the free end of one to the free end of the other extremity thereof, and the length of which is at least such as to permit the clamp to be extended to its full 25 capacity, wherefore at least when the implement is more or less contracted the envelope will be correspondingly shirred, the envelope being preferably so connected with the clamp that such shirring will necessarily exist in coincidence with 30 that portion of the clamp which connects its said two extremities. The clamp comprises two generally L-shaped fiat metal members each having one leg thereof lapping a leg of the other, said legs being confined together so as only to slide on 35 each other longitudinally, and a spring which connects the two members and serves to urge their other legs (forming said extremities) together.

In the drawing,

40 Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a package formed according to the invention and comprising a pile of, say, towels and said implement, more or less collapsed, the envelope appearing in longitudinal section;

45 Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on lines 2-2 and 3-3, respectively, Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of said package. To form the mentioned members I and 2 of the clamp I provide two flat steel or other metal strips 50 of approximately the same length and width and form a right-angular bend in each on a line parallel with one broad face thereof. One leg or a portion of each strip is arranged with its broad faces parallel to the same plane as the broad 55 faces of the other such leg or portion, the same here actually lapping each other; and theother two legs of themembers, designated la and 2a, stand in planes substantially parallel with each other and project inthe same direction. The two lapping legs'are confined to slide in this example 5 'on' each other lengthwise by the metal clips or straps 3 and 4 and the strap 3 outwardly traverses and is there riveted to the free end of the lapping extremity of the member I and has its ends bent around or so as inwardly to lap the lapping extremity of member 2; the strap 4 outwardly traverses the lapping extremity of member I and has its ends bent around or so as to inwardly lap the free end of the lapping extremity of member 2 and is there riveted to member 2. Integral hooks 5 may be provided on the members at the re-entrant sides of and near their angles, and for normally urging the extremities la and. 2a toward each other these hooks are connected by the tension spring 6. For the sake of compactmess the lapping extremity of member 2 (such being the inner one of the two lapping extremities) may be formed with a longitudinal slot 7 in which the spring is partially received.

The mentioned tubular and flexible envelope, preferably of some decorative fabric, is indicated at 8. Its width may be throughout slightly greater than that of the clamp members and its length is such as to be adapted at least completely to sheath the clamp when the latter is fully extended. One end, thereof, as 8a may be permanently closed, as by stitching; the other end is temporarily closed by a snap-fastener 9.

The implement, so formed, may be extended by drawing the members of the clamp part against the tension of the spring, whereupon, a pile of towels a or the like being made to be received between the extremities la and 2a, upon release of the members the implement will grip the towels, as shown. The towels may be removed one or a few at a time, leaving the clamp to remain gripping the remainder.

When the clamp is not loaded to full capacity there will of course be fulness in the envelope, and to confine this as much as possible to that portion of the implement which coincides with the lapping legs of. the members I and 2 and give it a decorative shirred effect I provide snapfasteners, the studs I!) of which may be secured to the members at or adjacent their angles and the grommets. l I of which may be attached to the envelope at such a distance from its ends that as to the portions of the envelope containing extremities l a and 2a there will be little departure from the fiat state, as shown.

order to obtain an effective gripping on the pile of towels or the like each extremity la, and Zia is near the mentioned angle of the corresponding member bent toward the other, as at i i, then extending straight and parallel with the other extremity. And it is preferably stiffened by a longitudinally extending bend I3.

Of course the mere deflection of the envelope from the lapping portion of. the members so as to receive their extremities lat-2a is a factor in inducing the shirring when the: clamp is 001- lapsed; but it is preferable to resort to some such detachable connection as lEI-H.

By the expression in the appended claims direct sheathing relation to a given portion of the clamp, I mean to express that the envelope has such transverse dimension as more or less snugly to contain said portion or substantially as shown in Fig. 3. In View of this and since the envelope is flat it is not disposed to skew or undergo torsional displacement with respect to the clamp and therefore the shirring will develop beside the flat faces of the legs I and 2 rather than beside their edges so that the margins of the envelope remain more or less parallel to each other, giving the shapely and decorative effect of.

a shirred ribbon, viewing the implement from the left in Fig. 1.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

In combination, a clamp including a pair of elongated substantially counterpart members each consisting of a stiff flat strip having its end portions in substantially right-angular relation to each other, one end portion of each member projecting reversely to and lapping and being confined to an end portion of the other member but slidable lengthwise of such end portion of the other member to extend or collapse the clamp, and said lapping end portions of the members presenting fiat faces to each other, and an elongated fiat flexible envelope of sheet material arranged in direct sheathing relation to the lapping end portions and being attached to the other end portions of such members, said envelope having its longitudinal dimension as great as the distance between said other end portions when the clamp is substantially fully extended and being free of said members between the points of attachment to said other end portions.

RALPH W. HARRIS. 

